Madeline Crumling on Hand Engraving, Trash Guns, and Finding Her Place in Gun Culture

Madeline Crumling joins A Better Way 2A to talk about what happens when fine art, gunsmithing, and a willingness to build extremely questionable-looking firearms all collide.

Madeline is a gunsmith, master hand engraver, and founder of MC Weaponry. She talks about starting out in engineering before switching to fine art, finding a way to combine the artistic and mechanical sides of her brain, and eventually turning hand engraving into a full-time career.

We get into the absurd amount of work that goes into high-end engraved firearms, including projects that can take an entire month, gold inlays, heirloom guns, and why she still engraves everything by hand under a microscope.

Then there are the less respectable projects: guns made from scrap metal, a 1911 turned into a sci-fi monstrosity, a functioning Webley shaped like a fish, weird caliber conversions, and why guns don't always need to be practical to be worth making.

Madeline also talks about transitioning after already establishing herself in the firearms industry, the support she found from people she didn't necessarily expect, the surprisingly large queer and trans gun community, and what it's like being openly trans in an industry where simply existing can turn you into a lightning rod online.

It's a conversation about craftsmanship, creativity, gun culture, identity, and the underrated value of making something ridiculous simply because you can.

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Edited by Matthew Boerger